miss fire

Idioms  

1. Fail to achieve the anticipated result, as in Recycling cardboard seemed like a good idea but it missed fire. First recorded in 1727, this phrase originally described a firearm failing to go off and has been used figuratively since the mid-1800s.

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

miss fire

Oh, shucks! the best gun'll miss fire once in a lifetime.

From The Long Roll by Johnston, Mary

The match might be a burned one, it might miss fire, or go out before he had an opportunity to kindle the leaves, or the leaves themselves might be too damp to burn.

From The White Crystals Being an Account of the Adventures of Two Boys by Garis, Howard Roger

You don’t waste words, Wyllis, but you never miss fire.

From A Collection of Stories, Reviews and Essays by Cather, Willa Sibert

The hammer that struck this shell didn't hit true; not so far off as to miss fire, you understand, but it ain't in line exactly.

From Hidden Gold by Anthony, Wilder

The missionaries have assigned a very absurd reason for firelocks not being used in China; they say the dampness of the air is apt to make the flint miss fire.

From Travels in China, Containing Descriptions, Observations, and Comparisons, Made and Collected in the Course of a Short Residence at the Imperial Palace of Yuen-Min-Yuen, and on a Subsequent Journey through the Country from Pekin to Canton by Barrow, John, Sir

Related Words

• abort
• fall through